What to expect from India’s largest-ever delegation at Davos 2026

The 56th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting (WEF) is beginning in Davos, Switzerland today (January 19). And India is sending its largest-ever delegation.

The development comes ahead of the Global India AI Summit in New Delhi. It also comes as Donald Trump is ramping up his threats to take Greenland from Denmark and has imposed tariffs on EU nations.

But what do we know about the delegation? What can we expect?

Let’s take a closer look.

A brief look at the WEF

First, a brief look at the WEF. The five-day annual meeting in Davos is being held from today (January 19) to January 23, 2026. This year’s theme is ‘A Spirit of Dialogue’. The WEF said that over 3,000 delegates from more than 130 countries will attend, including 64 heads of state and government, particularly from emerging nations.

US President Donald Trump, Canada’s Mark Carney, France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Chancellor, EU President Ursula von der Leyen, Argentina’s Javier Milei, Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto, Spain’s Pedro Sánchez, and EU President Ursula von der Leyen are expected to attend.

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When it comes to AI and technology, some of the major figures in attendance will be Jensen Huang, Satya Nadella, Demis Hassabis, and Dario Amodei.

“Dialogue is not a luxury, it is a necessity,” said WEF President and CEO Børge Brende, a former Norwegian minister.

The WEF, in its Global Risks Report, has warned that geoeconomic conflicts are the biggest risk facing major powers in 2026. It said that cybersecurity was the biggest risk to India in 2026 and that the country also faces risks to its stability from potential slowdowns and external shocks. It said tariffs and supply chain issues could heighten the risk of a slowdown domestically.

What we know about the delegation

From India, a number of high-profile individuals, including National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Minister of New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi, and Minister of Civil Aviation K. Rammohan Naidu, will be part of the delegation.

A number of Chief Ministers will also be attending, including Maharashtra’s Devendra Fadnavis, Andhra Pradesh’s N. Chandrababu Naidu, Assam’s Himanta Biswa Sarma, Madhya Pradesh’s Mohan Yadav, Telangana’s A. Revanth Reddy, and Jharkhand’s Hemant Soren.

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The delegation will also comprise several business leaders, including Reliance CEO Mukesh Ambani, Tata Group Chairman N. Chandrasekaran, Bajaj Group Chairman Sanjiv Bajaj, Jubilant Bhartia Group Chairman Hari S. Bhartia, TVS Motor CEO Sudarshan Venu, and Mahindra Group CEO Anish Shah.

Influencer and content creator Masoom Minawala Mehta and Bollywood actress Bhumi Pednekar will also be present at Davos 2026. A number of women leaders are also set to take the stage at Davos. This includes former Union Minister Smriti Irani, Japneet Kaur, founder of GreenKid Chronicles and Programme Director, Cybersecurity – Mphasis, Invest India’s Nivruti Rai, Apollo Hospitals’ Sangita Reddy, Welspun Living’s Dipali Goenka, Vedanta’s Priya Agarwal Hebbar, Radhika Bharat Ram of Shri Ram/Karm’s, Arti Gupta from the Jagran Group, and Rathi Gupta from IXME.

What can we expect

Naidu is slated to meet several industrialists and hold one-on-one meetings, while also participating in a number of programmes. Soren is set to display an energy transition model. Indian leaders will attend several discussions, including one entitled ‘Can India become the third largest economy in the world?’

State governments are encouraging investors to come to India, while Union ministers will speak on how to deal with geo-economic tensions, critical minerals, and the responsible adoption of AI. India will also be sending a message to the world about where it fits in amid geopolitical tensions.

From a new address at Davos, once occupied by the iconic Piano Bar, Team India has a clear message written all over the snow-laden alleys of this ski resort town: Partner with Bharat and subscribe to the future.

The underlying message of the India Pavilion on the main promenade of Davos, which also houses pavilions for various states, is being broadcast loud and clear by industry partners.

The apex industry chamber CII, in its pavilion, has a similar message: Partner India Inc, subscribe to a reliable future. As the city gets ready for the five-day talkfest starting Monday, several IT majors from India have also decked up their own pavilions and lounges, and the common theme for them is AI.

There is even an AI lounge, in addition to tea and coffee stalls set up by them. Wipro and TCS have their lounges facing each other on opposite sides of the promenade, while Infosys, HCL Tech, and Tech Mahindra are not far off. Wipro is pitching for AI and beyond, while TCS says it is embedding AI in every service it delivers. There are pavilions of various state governments as well, including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, and Telangana.

WEF President Børge Brende told NDTV he sees good things for India.

“I still think this year India will be the fastest growing of the large economies. And we have numbers now showing that India can maybe make up for 20 per cent of all global growth,” Brende said. “So, then India is not only growing for India, but that growth is also contributing to everyone on our planet because that growth is so substantial.”

“The Modi government made some concrete reforms that I did expect, but not so fast and so forcefully. That’s why I am also more bullish on the Indian economy.”

With inputs from agencies